


Earth's Mightiest Tree Farm

by kaceywithak



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, M/M, Peter is the best wingman ever, So much blushing and cuteness these dorks are amazing, Steve is a lumberjack, Tony is doing his best to be a good uncle to Peter, background Clint and Natasha, fluff omg so much fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-22
Updated: 2017-12-22
Packaged: 2019-02-18 08:40:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13096467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaceywithak/pseuds/kaceywithak
Summary: In the six months he had become sole guardian to his nine year old nephew Peter, Tony Stark hadn't done much right. So when Peter asks to go upstate to tag a Christmas Tree, Tony quickly says yes.Enter Tree Farm owner Steve Rogers, the world's sexiest lumberjack with a smile that could probably stop a war.It really is the most wonderful time of the year.





	Earth's Mightiest Tree Farm

“ _Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the way…”_  

Tony glances in the rearview mirror. Peter looks thoughtfully out the window as they drive north on the Taconic State Parkway. He’s not smiling, but he’s not pouting and these days that counts as a win. 

It’s been a rough six months. 

Tony Stark: CEO of Stark Industries, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and was living up to each label in a Los Angeles mansion. Until he got a call that changed everything.

His little sister Mary was a scientist too, but she took after their mom: quiet and kind with a strong distaste for the spotlight. She married Richard Parker right after graduate school and gave birth to an adorable little boy a year later. Peter Parker was a sweet baby, a hilarious toddler and a happy kid who had the best of both of his parents. Tony would see him a few times a year; usually whirlwind visits with expensive gifts and hilarious stories. He was the fun, cool uncle and Peter adored him. Or at least he used to. 

Now Tony is the guardian of a nine year old who went from sweet tempered and kind to surly and miserable in the span of a summer. Tony couldn’t blame him; hell, his parents died when he was in his twenties and he still went on a three-week bender.

It got worse when Peter went back to school. Tony moved back to the east coast and into a penthouse but all of the video games in the world couldn’t put a smile on Peter’s face. He refused to do his homework, refused to dress up for Halloween and hated anything that wasn’t his book on spiders or the photo album from his parents. Tony was at his wits end and contemplated canceling Thanksgiving when Peter pushed the door open to his workshop one night. 

_“Uncle Tony?” Tony spun around on his workbench._

_“Hey Pete, what’s up?” Peter eyed the room with interest before turning back to Tony._

_“Um, I was wondering…well mom and dad and I used to go tag a tree the day after Thanksgiving. And…um…” He looked at the floor._

_“Do you want to go this year?” Tony asked tentatively even though he wasn’t quite sure what tagging a tree entailed. Peter looked up from the floor and nodded. “Yeah, absolutely. We’ll find a farm-“_

_“I know the farm! We always go to the same one!” And for the first time since he buried his parents, Peter had a sparkle in his deep brown eyes. “It’s a really nice drive Uncle Tony, you’ll like it. And they are so cool there, Steve and Bucky and Clint.” He babbled on and made his way over to the bench. Tony slid down to make room and Peter sat next to him. He asked about Tony’s work and Tony showed him plans for a miniature version of an arc reactor. They stayed up past midnight (which was likely frowned upon in the Raising a Kid handbook) but Peter looked happy so Tony decided not to care._

Somewhere between learning how to make a PB&J and attending parent teacher conferences was the expectation that he now needed to drive a ‘responsible car.’ Or at least one with an actual backseat. The Audi Q7 SUV zooms up the highway quite nicely, though Tony does kind of miss the hum of the coupe.

After 80 miles on the parkway and another 10 on NY-55, they are close and Tony sees Peter fidgeting in the back with excitement. 

“There it is!” Peter pokes his finger against the window. “Turn right Uncle Tony!”

‘Earth’s Mightiest Tree Farm’ is painted across a large wooden sign with a picture of a Christmas Tree on top of a patriotic looking circle. Ugh. _Hippies_.

A dirt road leads them past the sign and towards the farm and Peter’s excitement grows by the second. Cars are parked in a clearing and Peter unbuckles his seatbelt before Tony even turns the car off. He gets out and around, fully expects to scold Peter (when did _he_ become the responsible one again?) but one look at his surroundings stops him in his tracks.

It might have a silly name, but the place is as gorgeous as a goddamn postcard, from the white farmhouse to the big red barn. And the scent of pine and evergreens in the crisp air? Way better than those candles his assistant Pepper lights around the house. Tony looks around, thoroughly impressed, when Christmas comes early in the form of a tall, built, blond walking towards them.

He looks like a cross between an LL Bean model and a sort of lumberjack cowboy: all American looks with a navy and green plaid flannel tucked jeans that are slightly too tight. It really is the best time of the year. 

“Steve!” Peter runs from his side towards the Adonis. _Huh_. Didn’t see that one coming. 

“Peter! It’s so great to see you. Wow, you got glasses?” Peter nods so enthusiastically that said glasses nearly fall off his face. “They look great.”

“Thank you! This is Uncle Tony,” Tony realizes he is staring at Steve a minute too late and their gazes lock.

Shit, those are the _bluest_ things he has ever seen. The corner of Steve’s mouth lifts into a lopsided smile and Tony suddenly feels too warm in the cool air.

Something inside him starts to stir, more than appreciation for the good looks and surprise at how easily he can talk to Peter. Tony aced the verbal portion of the SATs when he was eleven but he can’t figure out a word for this.

“Steve Rogers.” They shake hands and there it is again, that warm, tingly feeling.

“Tony Stark.” He finds he doesn’t have to use his media/boardroom/stakeholder smile with Steve. It just comes naturally.

“I’m sorry about your sister. She and Richard were kind, good people.”

“Uh, thanks.” Tony stammers out, trying to make the sudden lump in his throat go away. Steve actually sounds sincere and sincerity isn’t a trait he often encounters. “Pete says they used to come here every year?”

“Every Black Friday for the tree and in June to pick strawberries. They were actually some of our first customers.” He looks down at Peter and ruffles his hair. “That was before you were even born.”

“No way!” Peter scrunched his face and looked at Tony. “Uncle Tony, do you even remember before I was born?”

“Yes. It was a dark time until your squishy face came along and filled the gap in our lives.” Tony reaches out and taps his nose and Peter smiles. “So are you going to teach me how to do this tagging thing or what?”

“You’ve never tagged a tree?” Steve looks surprised.

“He’s usually in California for holidays. Or one time he was in Mexico and there were pictures on TV but mom made me turn it off.” Tony certainly does not _blush_ at that, but he does cough loudly.

“Well,” Steve’s smile is a little too big. Tony wonders if a smartass hides under all of those muscles. “Our farm is pretty big and the signs will tell you what kind of trees are in each section. Once you find your tree you just let us know and we’ll come measure and tag it. My team is usually making laps around so it’s easy to just flag us down.”

“Can’t you come with us?” Peter asks. Tony wants to high five his nephew for the suggestion but knows he should probably decline. Thankfully, Steve speaks first.

“If it’s alright with your Uncle Tony then I’d love to.” Tony is positive no one has ever said his name so perfectly before and it’s the greatest thing he’s ever heard. He shoots Steve a grin.

“Alright Steve, guess you can _tag_ along.” Peter groans at the obnoxious pun but it startles a laugh out of Steve.

Screw Tony’s name, Steve laughing is _definitely_ the greatest thing he’s ever heard.

Twigs and dirt crunch below Tony’s shoes and Peter rapidly fires questions about tree farming. Steve answers with the patience of a saint and even throws in a few stories.

Tony learns Steve and his childhood friend Bucky grew up in Brooklyn ( _“that’s not far from us, Uncle Tony!”)_ and joined the army after high school. After a few tours in the middle east they came back to New York but moved upstate and bought a tree farm from a crazy old man who wore an eye patch.

“The thing is though, we knew nothing about tree farming. So we had to find someone who did. And that’s how we met Clint.”

“Clint taught me how to saw off the bottom of a tree last year.” Peter clues Tony in.

“Oh yeah?” He raises an eyebrow at Steve. Steve rubs a spot on the back of his neck and faintly blushes. 

“Well, he didn’t let him use the actual chainsaw.” 

“Relax Rogers, I let the kid play with robots on a daily basis.”

“Robots?” 

“Uncle Tony _made_ them. They help him invent things when Pepper’s not hassling him about signing paperwork.” Steve bites his lip to keep from laughing and Tony rolls his eyes.

“No one ever told me having a kid around is basically having a parrot.”

“Uncle Tony, what’s our tree limit?”

“Tree limit? Are we getting more than one?”

“I think he means a height limit. Most people have five or six footers,” Steve gestures to a cluster of Douglas Firs to the left.

“Oh. Well it’s going in the living room and we’ve got cathedral ceilings so there’s no limit. Go crazy, kid.” Peter’s eyes light up and he rushes to the right towards the tallest trees.

Tony keeps glancing at Steve as they follow Peter. Is there a right way to thank someone for turning his surly, moody nephew into a normal, happy kid? If Tony knew the great outdoors would make Peter so happy he would have learned to love nature six months ago.

But as he watches Steve with Peter, always looking him in the eye and talking to him like a friend rather than a child, and he figures it might not be the fresh balsam air after all. Just like it’s probably not the air causing the fluttery feeling in his chest.

Peter finds ‘the absolute best tree’ and Steve estimates it to be twelve feet high.

“Do you remember the needle test?”

“Yes! Can I teach Uncle Tony?” Peter grabs Tony’s hand and brings him to the tree. “Okay, so we have to test the needles to make sure…to make sure…”

“To make sure the tree is healthy.” Steve stage-whispers.

“To make sure the tree is healthy. So you do this,” Peter takes a branch and gently runs his hand up and down the branch. “See how no needles fall off? It’s healthy. You try.”

“Alright,” Tony takes the same branch and repeats Peter’s actions. The tree feels solid and firm and though he will likely have to get a truck to get it back to the city, it’s the right one. “Feels like a perfect tree Pete!” 

Peter lunges at Tony, wrapping him in a hug. The Stark family was never big on hugs and Tony doesn’t think he’s given Peter one since the funeral but Tony leans down and holds on tight to his nephew. Peter squeezes tighter and Tony hears a faint sniffle.

“Hey, you okay?” He pulls back a little and Peter hastily wipes his eyes.

“Yeah. I’m just glad…we found a good tree.” His chin is still quivering a bit but he’s smiling. Tony pulls him back for another hug.

“You picked a _great_ tree.” They stay there for another minute until Peter takes a steadying breath and turns to Steve.

“Do you have the tags and a marker?” Steve hands them over.

“I’m going to find Clint and grab the ruler so we can measure. I’ll be right back, okay?” Steve waits for a nod from Peter before giving Tony a soft, understanding smile and it does all sorts of terrible, wonderful things to the genius’ brain. Tony watches his retreat and is only broken out of his thoughts by a throat clearing. Peter cocks his head to the side and stares at Tony.

“Do you have a crush on Steve?” Tony makes an embarrassing sound and he can feel his face start to heat up. Nothing like being called out by a nine year old.

“Jesus, no! We just met an _hour_ ago!”

“Mom said love at first sight is real. It’s okay if he’s a boy and you’re a boy too. It’s still love.”

“Don’t you have a tree to label?” Tony tries to distract the both of them. Peter takes the cap off of the marker and pauses for a minute before he writes STARK in big handwriting.

For the second time that day Tony fights a lump in his throat.

Steve returns with another blond (Clint: shorter, still attractive and wearing flannel. Tony was definitely wrong about them all being hippies) and a huge ruler. The tree is twelve and a half feet tall and Peter chatters about all of the ornaments he is going to make for it as they walk back to the barn.

“Who is that?” Peter points at a gorgeous redhead woman who is sawing a tree in half. She’s petite and somehow handles the chainsaw like she was born to do it.

“That, my short friend, is Natasha.” Clint smiles. “She could saw my legs off and I think I’d love her more.” 

“Nice, Clint.” Steve shakes his head.

“I’m just sayin’, man. Anyway, I’ll get you guys settled up in the barn-“ 

“I’ve got them.” Tony is almost certain he isn’t making up how rushed Steve’s voice sounds. Clint raises one eyebrow, glances at Tony and smirks. 

“Alright Cap, you got it.”

“Cap?” Peter asks, following Steve into the barn. There’s a table and an old fashioned register in the corner. Steve takes a key from his pocket and unlocks the money drawer.

“Bucky and Clint sometimes think my requests sound like orders.” Steve explains. _Do not think of Steve ordering you around the bedroom, do not think of Steve ordering you around the bedroom._ “Alright, so we charge seven dollars a foot, so yours comes out to eighty seven dollars. And just a reminder we are cash only.”

Tony freezes as he reaches for his wallet. 

“It’s okay,” Steve starts rubbing the back of his neck again. “You can just pay for it when you pick it up.” Tony tries to argue but Steve holds up a hand. His voice is serious but he’s smiling when he says: “Tony, I trust you.”

Four little words and it’s like the damn earth is knocked off its axis.

Peter drags his feet as they go to leave and only the promise of burgers can get him to look half as excited as he did when they were picking out the tree. Tony doesn’t want to leave either, but it’s starting to get crowded and he knows they’ve monopolized enough of Steve’s time already.

But when they pull out of the parking spot and back on to the dirt road, Tony glances in the rearview mirror and Steve is watching them drive away. For a little while Tony entertains the idea that maybe Steve felt a fraction of the fluttery feelings too.

\--

Peter’s good mood lasts a week.

“Do you know _how_ many times I’ve seen your principal in the last four months?” Tony and Peter face off in the kitchen. Peter throws his backpack on the floor. 

“I don’t care, school is stupid!”

“Well tough shit, because you still have to go!”

“You shouldn’t say _shit_!” Peter takes off his hat and throws it on the ground 

“Is that what we’re doing now? Throwing things on the floor?” In the back of his mind, Tony knows he’s being ridiculous but if Peter doesn’t shape up he’ll have to find another school.

“I hate it here! I _hate_ this city!” Out of things to throw, Peter crosses his arms over his chest.

“Well you vetoed the Los Angeles move so we’re here!” Tony runs both hands through his hair.

“I hate Los Angeles, I hate New York and I HATE YOU!” With a final, dramatic scream Peter storms out of the kitchen. Tony sinks down on to a barstool and listens to his feet stomp all the way to his bedroom. There’s a slam of the door and then silence.

“Jarvis?”

“ _Master Peter is screaming into his pillow. He is upset, but he is not in danger_.” 

“Thanks. Scale of one to ten how badly did I just fuck up?”

“ _I find that parenting is very subjective and can not often be put on a quantitative scale.”_

Parenting. That’s what he’s doing now, isn’t it? He’s not a long-term babysitter or a family member who can bankroll whatever Peter’s heart desires and then leave someone else to the tough stuff. He’s a parent.

What were Mary and Richard thinking, naming him as guardian? He vaguely remembers a conversation with his sister when she was pregnant but he had pre-gammed family dinner and there was a layer of whiskey clouding the memories.

He’s a strange combination of restless and drained and he wanders around the penthouse for a little while, going in an out of finely decorated rooms that all feel the same. 

Tony only enters Peter’s room when Jarvis confirms he has fallen asleep. Carefully and quietly he takes the boy’s shoes off and pulls the covers over him. Tony figures he can let him sleep in his uniform, better than him waking up and picking up where they left off. He sets Peter’s glasses by the bedside table and pushes chestnut brown hair from his forehead.

“I don’t know what to do, Pete.”

\--

Tony has a god-awful early meeting the next day and has to leave before Peter’s woken up. Though Happy texts him their morning routine went fine and Peter seemed in a good mood when he was dropped off at school, Tony couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling on the unresolved conflict. He’s distracted throughout his morning and Pepper becomes increasingly exasperated at the hours go by.

“You could at least pretend like you are paying attention to me, Mr. Stark.” She slams a file onto his desk and startles him. “Legal needs you to sign off on the sale of the upstate New York property.”

“What?” Tony breaks his gaze from his coffee mug.

“Tony, we were in the meeting less than two weeks ago! The old SI warehouse hasn’t been in use for a decade and we have a buyer for the land-“

“Where is this?”

“Over two hours north of here, I just need your signature-“

“I’m leaving.” He pushes the chair back from the desk so quickly it almost startles Pepper out of her high heels. 

“Tony, where are you going?” She’s using her you-may-be-a-genius-but-you-act-like-a-toddler-voice. 

“To check out the property. Make sure we’re not missing out. Move all my meetings.” Her loud sigh follows him into the hall but he’s in his coupe and hitting the highway before he can think twice about it.

He does plan on going to the property. But he makes a stop first. 

The farm smells just as incredible as it did ten days ago. It should relax him, but the two-hour drive did nothing for his scattered state of mine. He walks up to the barn trying to act causal (because it’s _so_ casual to shop for a Christmas tree midday in an expensive suit).

“Can I help you?” A gruff voice asks. Tony spins around and sees a tall man with shaggy brown hair and striking gray-blue eyes. Was it a requirement to be drop dead gorgeous to work here? 

“I tagged a tree on Black Friday but I didn’t have cash so Steve said I could bring it later and I was in the area so…” 

“Alright. Follow me.” They walk to the barn and the man pushes the sleeves of his sweater up. Tony sees his left arm is actually a shiny metal prosthetic and it takes every ounce of the little self-control he has not to ask to see the whole thing. He takes out a spiral notebook and flips back a few pages. “Last name?”

“Stark.” The man pauses and looks back up.

“Hold on a sec.” Tony waits for him to return and looks around at the inside of the barn. There’s a beautiful mural painted on one wall of snow covered trees. He looks around for the artist’s signature but instead just finds ‘Christmas 2011’ scribbled in the corner.

“Sorry about that.” He doesn’t sound sorry at all but Tony supposes not everyone can be as good with the customers as Steve. He continues to flip through the notebook but Tony notices he’s doing it slower than before

“Alright Bucky what’s the prob-Tony?” Tony whips his head around and sees Steve standing in the doorway. He freezes for half a second before his mouth goes into overtime.

“Hey. I was in the area and, you know, I still have to pay you. So I figured I’d swing by,” Tony gestures at Bucky. “Have to make sure the books are all up to date, can’t have the maniac who picked out a huge tree be skewing numbers. I didn’t call ahead or anything, just, in the area.” He trails off and starting nodding because he’s clearly having some sort of social cue stroke. Looking for something to do other than make himself look ridiculous, he grabs the cash from his wallet and hands it over to Bucky. “Keep the change, that thing is going to be a bitch to cut down.” Tony looks back at Steve who seems to be studying him. He’s about to open his mouth again, likely to dig him deeper into this hole of mortification when Steve speaks. 

“When is the last time you ate something?”

“Uh, yesterday? Maybe?”

“Come on.” And Steve turns on his heels and walks out. Tony glances at Bucky and Bucky waves him along with a roll of his eyes.

The white farmhouse is in need of a new paint job and the floors are creaky but it has the warm feeling of being lived in. There’s a kitchen in the back and Steve pulls out a barstool for Tony.

“What is your stance on grilled cheese?” Steve starts to rummage around the fridge.

“I am pro-grilled cheese.” Steve pops his head over the door and gives Tony one of those smiles that could probably make world peace a real thing.

“Good.”

There’s a radio playing old Christmas songs and as Tony watches Steve move around the kitchen he begins to relax. Today Steve is wearing a red flannel: the Brawny paper towel model has nothing on him.

Tony is mentally designing pans that would print the SI logo into sandwiches when Steve slides a perfect, golden grilled cheese in front of him. Suddenly ravenous, Tony takes a bite. 

“Holy shit. What are you doing with trees, you should open a grilled cheese stand!” Steve chuckles from his own barstool beside him. “I’m serious!”

“Bread, cheese and butter, Tony. It’s not rocket science.”

“Listen, I’ve designed rockets, this is way better for humanity.”

“If I ever open a grilled cheese stand I’ll be sure you and Peter are the first to try.” Tony knows his expression gives him away when Steve’s brows furrow.

“Well, you might want to get started soon then because my calculation conclude Pete’s going to try to run away by age ten.” The joke falls flat because it’s not really a joke is it? It’s his biggest fear and after last night it’s starting to look likely.

“He’s had a rough few months. And so have you. Loosing the ones you love…it ain’t easy.”

“What if I’m screwing him up? I mean it’s bad enough the kid lost his parents, now he’s stuck with an uncle who works too much and doesn’t know the first thing about being a kid. When I was his age I was already taking high school classes. I never had a normal childhood because _I’m_ not normal and I just…I know I’m going to screw this up, Steve.” He looks down at his plate and wonders when he got into the habit of bearing his soul to strangers.

“I lost my parents when I was a kid too. I moved in with Bucky and he always looked after me. I was kind of small and scrappy.” At this, Tony lifts his gaze and gives Steve an incredulous expression.

“I find that _very_ hard to believe.”

“Wanna bet?” Steve gets up and grabs a framed photo from the living room. A teenage Bucky has his arm slung around a kid who looked like a strong gust of wind could knock him over.

“Wow. You’re kind of adorable, Rogers.” Steve blushes and starts rubbing the back of his neck as he continues on.

“I always wondered if Bucky joined the army with me just to keep an eye on me. It was our last tour where his tank got hit and he got hurt. I finished up and we got back to New York and it was…bad.” Steve stares at the picture. “War screwed us both up pretty good but it took his arm and it seemed like every day got darker.”

“So you came up here.” Tony finishes. Steve looks up and faintly smiles.

“I remember when I first brought Bucky here, right before we bought it, we were walking around and I tripped over a tree stump. Fell on my ass, dirt everywhere, but what I remember most is finally seeing Bucky laugh. I felt a little less helpless.”

Steve reaches out a hand and puts it on Tony’s shoulder. It’s comforting and grounding and Tony tries to absorb some of Steve’s strength for himself. 

“You’re not screwing Peter up, Tony. You’re really good with him and you’re trying. I promise it’ll get easier.”

“With pep talks like that, I see why they call you ‘Cap’.” Tony grins but somehow he knows Steve can tell he’s grateful. 

They finish their lunch and for possibly the first time in his life Tony helps wash the dishes. Their dishwasher is broken (if only he had a few more hours…) so Steve hands the plates to Tony and he dries them with a red towel. 

Steve walks Tony to his car and gives it an appreciative look over. 

“Thanks for coming by, Tony.”

“I did have business in the area, you know. I didn’t just drive up here so I could have a lunchtime therapy session with the world’s most attractive lumberjack.”

“Well at least you got a grilled cheese out of it.” Well would you look at that, Tony was right about the smartass thing after all. “See you in a week to pick up your tree?” 

“I’ll be the one in the obnoxiously large pick up truck.” Tony winks.

\--

The building is nothing particularly special, warehouses never are. One gray rectangular building connected to another gray slightly-less-rectangular building. The land is the real sell. It’s silly to keep it around when they haven’t used it in years.

And yet….

Tony’s parks the car and gets out, taking a few laps around and surveying the space. Good southwest light for solar panels…enough space for a full sized arc reactor to power the place…ample parking…

His mind spins as fast as the wheels on his car and his drive home is much more pleasant than the drive up.

\-- 

When Tony arrives back to the penthouse Happy reports Peter had a trouble-free day at school and is in his room reading. Tony’s a little nervous to see him but he can’t go around being intimidated by a nine year old. He bites the bullet and knocks on the door.

“Hey kiddo. Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Peter’s reading his book on spiders again but he sets it aside. Tony sits on the bed.

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have said s-h-i-t and I definitely shouldn’t have yelled.” Peter nods.

“I’m sorry too. I don’t hate you at all, Uncle Tony. I just…” Peter looks away. “I miss them.” 

“I know.” Tony tentatively reaches his arms out and Peter crawls into them. He strokes the boy’s head and takes a few deep breaths. “I miss them too kid.” They sit in silence for a few moments and though Tony feels better now that its confirmed Peter doesn’t hate him, he’d do anything to make the kid a little less sad. Which explains why he then blurts out: “I went to the tree farm today.”

“Because you have a crush on Steve?” Peter asks slyly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a smug smile.

“Probably.” Tony groans and Peter lets out a cheer.

“I knew it! Did you kiss him?”

“What, no! We ate grilled cheese and talked.”

“Like a date?”

“If you call baring my emotional soul to a wildly handsome mountain man, then yes.”

“If food was involved then it’s a date.” Tony decides not to argue because he’s a little excited as the prospect of having a sort of date with Steve. “When are we going back to get the tree?”

“Next week. On Saturday.” Peter glances at his New York Jets calendar, possibly the only bad influence Richard Parker had on his son. 

“That’s only ten days away.”

“Guess we have to start looking for a truck.”

\-- 

It’s a much different ride up the Taconic State Parkway with Peter this time around. Tony found a large, red Ford F-150 truck and Peter can not stop cracking ‘like hick Santa’s sleigh’ jokes.

Tony starts tapping the wheel nervously as they make the turn into Earth’s Mightiest Tree Farm and Peter glances over.

“Uncle Tony, it’s gonna be great. You’re a total catch!” Tony snorts.

“Where did you learn that?” 

“Nineties movies. Jarvis lets me rent whatever I want.” They pull into a parking post and Peter unbuckles his belt. “Trust me, I think he likes you too.”

The farm is pretty crowded today, but it doesn’t stop Tony from spotting Steve less than five minutes after his arrival. His blond hair is covered by a navy blue cap with a red pom pom at the end but Tony doesn’t think he could mistake those broad shoulders. Tony has just enough time to stop staring like a stalker when he hears Peter yell out “Hey, Steve!”

“Peter!” Steve grins at the boy and waves him over to where he finishes netting a tree for a hipster looking couple. Tony follows his nephew and he swears he’s not imaging that Steve’s smile grows even larger when he locks eyes with Tony. 

“Hi.” Tony says and he’s slightly horrified to hear his voice sounds _shy_.

“Hey Tony.” Steve’s right hand comes up and rubs the back of his neck. “Here for your tree?”

“Someone has to upstage the Rockefeller Center.”

“Let me just finish up and I’ll come saw it down for you.”

And what a delightful sight _that_ was. Steve, wielding the saw like he was some sort of knight from medieval times slaying a dragon with a jousting stick. And the way he lifted the tree up like it weighed no more than a feather and carried it to be netted? 

Could Tony really be blamed if he imagined how easily Steve could lift _him_ up?

They put in in the bad of the truck and secured it with rope for the drive home. 

“You two picked a darn good tree.” Steve gives Tony a smile. “I’m sure it’ll look really nice in New York.” 

“You should come see it!” Peter says suddenly and Tony feels his eyes widen to twice their size.

“Pete, this is literally Steve’s busiest time-“ Tony tries not the let the panic of a nine year old making dates for him show in his voice.

“He doesn’t work on Christmas. Right Steve?”

“Well,” Steve’s hand has returned to the back of his neck again. “I mean Christmas Day, Bucky and I usually drive to Brooklyn for lunch with his sister-“

“Perfect, we’re in Manhattan! You can come by later and see it.”  Peter looks expectantly at Tony. Tony, however, looks right at Steve.

“You can. I would- _we_ would…like that.”

“Okay.” A faint blush tints Steve’s cheeks and if he had an ounce less of self control Tony would let out a whoop. “I should get your number then. For your address.” Steve hands Tony a phone that is woefully outdated and Tony punches his number in.  

“ _Yo, Cap_!” Steve has a walkie-talkie clipped to his belt. “ _D lot is getting crowded_.” 

“Guess that’s my signal. I’ll, uh, text you. Bye, Peter. Thank you again for the invite to Christmas.”

“Sure thing!” Peter gives him a fist bump and Tony awkwardly hangs around his driver’s side door.

“Have a good rest of your day. Don’t like, saw your head off or anything.” And he visibly cringes after that but Steve lets out a laugh. 

“Drive safe Tony.”

For the first time since he got his license, Tony Stark drives the actual speed limit down the highway. Christmas music plays softly on the radio and Peter looks out the window at the snow-covered trees lining the roads.

“I like it here.”

“Upstate?”

“Yeah. It’s quiet. But really nice.” Tony lets that sink in for a minute.

“Do you like it more than the city?” Peter thinks about his answer before responding. 

“I like the city too I guess. But I like it here a lot more. My mom did too.” Tony grips the steering wheel but Peter doesn’t get upset. Instead, the little punk slyly looks over. “She liked Steve too. Must be a Stark thing.” Tony barks out a laugh.

“Must be.”

\--

Later, his phone dings with a text message.

“ _Hi, Tony. It’s Steve Rogers. How is the tree?”_

He knows he’s grinning like a teenager with a crush, but somehow Tony doesn’t care.

\-- 

It’s quite a sight to see Steve standing in his living room, admiring the tree and the multicolored lights reflecting off the slight scruff on his chin. Peter had not-so-subtly disappeared to play with his new toys. Steve keeps coming back to an ornament Pepper had given him years ago, apparently it was a small replica of a very expensive painting he had drunkenly bid on and given to her.

“Hey I never asked, who painted that mural? The one of the farm, covered in snow on the side of the barn?” Steve blushes.

“It was me. I painted it.” Tony really should have figured.

“Good god Steve is there anything you can’t do?” They are standing slightly closer now, both facing each other. The fireplace cracks in the corner and the sun has almost completely set. 

“I could say the same about you. I saw the press conference you did. You’re going to help a lot of people upstate.” Tony shifts uncomfortably from one foot to the other. ‘CEO Tony’, even when he’s doing something good, isn’t someone he wants to be around Steve. 

“Clean energy is important.” 

“I also heard the part where you said you’re going to be spending a lot of time up there, overseeing renovations and working with the community.” Steve takes another step closer and Tony’s skin is buzzing with anticipation. “You know, I _happen_ to be a part of that community.”

“Are you volunteering to serve on the community relations team?” This time it’s Tony who closes the gap between them. He looks up and, cliché be damned: he nearly gets lost in Steve’s eyes. 

“Does that mean I get to see more of you?”

“Oh you’re going to see so much of me Steve Rogers, you’ll get sick of me.”

“Doubt it.” And Steve lifts his hands to frame Tony’s face and brings his lips to capture his.

Neither of them pay much notice to the nine year old boy doing a fist pump of victory in the hallway.

\--

_Eleven Months Later_

_Steve_

Steve Rogers used to have no problem waking up before the sun. He enjoyed the stillness of the morning; it was his own peaceful time before the rest of the world woke up.

This, of course, was before he was leaving a barely dressed Tony Stark in his bed.

“Can’t Bucky do it?” Steve can just make out his boyfriend’s whine as he burrows his face in a pillow.

“Run the whole farm the day after Thanksgiving?” Steve leans down to run a hand through Tony’s hair.

“That’s when we met.” Tony peeks a soft brown eye to look up at Steve. “Day after Thanksgiving.” 

“That day changed my whole life.” Steve answers honestly and kisses Tony’s forehead. He hears his boyfriend mutter something like ‘ _sap_ ’.

There’s a bite to the air but that’s Steve’s favorite kind of weather. He and Bucky work on opening up the barn and Natasha and Clint arrive not long after, Clint grumbling about Tony always taking his parking spot. 

What a year it’s been. 

Falling in love with Tony was easy: Steve knew he was a goner before Christmas and by New Years he knew there wasn’t anyone else. It helped that Tony was spending more and more time renovating the Stark Plant near him and that once the weather warmed up, Peter would come along on Saturdays and have a blast running around the tree farm.

Right before Memorial Day, Tony surprised Steve by buying a large colonial house in town and declaring the summer was to be spent “teaching Peter (and Tony himself) what it means to be outdoorsy.” They hiked, they took the boat on the lake, explored the woods and spent a memorable night camping in the pouring rain. Natasha taught Peter all about the different plants, Clint took Peter on his first ATV ride and Bucky…well Bucky practically adopted Peter as his own little brother. They built forts and chased geese off the farm and played video games when it rained. When Tony and Peter would sleep at the farmhouse (which was more often than not), it was Steve who had to go to the living room at an odd hour of the night and tell Bucky and Peter to quit playing card games. 

When August rolled around, Steve wondered how he could possibly go back to only seeing Tony and Peter on the weekends.

_“Oh, we didn’t tell you?” Tony smiled when Steve brought it up. “We’re officially country folk now. Pete’s starting school at Poughkeepsie Day next month.”_

_“Really? You’re leaving the city?”_

_“Well, I’ll be back and forth whenever I have to play the corporate card and you better bet you and Barnes are on babysitter duty those days…but yes. We like it here.”_

Peter was flourishing, making friends in school and studying every animal (including the bugs, to Tony’s dismay) that crossed through the farm. Steve always liked kids, but Peter was one of his favorite people on the planet. He loved his adventurous spirit and endless curiosity and his kindness to all living things.

Lucky for him, Peter liked him back and was all too eager to be involved in Steve’s plans.

Steve was in position by ten am, crouching in the fir trees like he was back in army boot camp. He heard their voices before he saw them.

“Need I remind you my boyfriend _owns_ this tree farm and there was no reason for you to wake me up early so we could beat the other peasants to get the best tree?”

“It’s tradition, Uncle Tony.” Steve sees Peter subtly search around for the tree and his heart stars to pound when Peter notices the red string.

“We could have at least waited for Steve to come with us.” Tony has his sunglasses on and is carrying a mug of coffee.

“Nah, you two are too mushy.” Peter slows down to admire the tree. Tony scoffs. 

“Mushy? I recall a certain nine year old all too happy to play match maker for Steve and I.”

“I’m ten now.” Peter shrugs. “What do you think of this tree?” Tony removes his sunglasses and squints. “You gotta do the needle test.”

“The what? Oh!” Tony nods. “I can do that.”

“Here,” Peter grabs the right branch and Steve starts to quietly move towards the two. “Go up and then back down.” 

“Easy enough,” Tony takes the branch and lightly runs his fingers up. When he runs them back down the branch, a red string with a gold ring tied to it falls neatly into his hand. “Wait-“ 

“Tony.” Steve’s voice is a lot steadier than he imagined and Tony whips around with a look of pure shock.

“Steve…” Tony looks between the ring and Steve a few times and Steve walks over to the branch. He unties the ring and kneels in front of Tony. “Oh my god. Oh my god, this is seriously happening, oh my god-“

“ _Uncle Tony_ , let him talk!” Peter runs his hands over his face.

“Tony, the last year has been extraordinary. Life ain’t always easy, but loving you is. And if it’s alright with you, I’d like to spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me?” He looks up expectantly and Tony let’s out a noise that is half a sob and half a laugh.

“Of course I’ll marry you, what kind of ridiculous question-“

Steve cuts him off with a deep kiss and he faintly hears Peter laughing about the most wonderful time of the year.

He has to agree.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I hope you enjoyed some good old fashioned Stony love. Visit me on tumblr at starks-and-mellarks if you want to obsess over these two heroes or anything else that comes to mind
> 
> Happy Holidays!!


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